November train travel news: iryo launches in Spain, new fully-accessible station in Yorkshire, and more

28 November: A new fully-accessible train station is slated to open in Morley, West Yorkshire this summer

As part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade project, Network Rail has announced the development of a new fully-accessible train station, only 75 metres away from its current location. This new station will feature extended platforms allowing for more spacious carriages and faster and more frequent routes for travel between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. 

Moving the train station will help transform the area for future development and provide more opportunities for local residents. Rob McIntosh, Managing Director for Network Rail's Eastern region, said: "It's just one element of a massive, multi-billion-pound programme of improvements we're delivering across the north to create a faster, greener railway that people can confidently rely on to get them where they need to be, on time."

While the existing station will largely remain open during construction of the new Morley development, there will be closures from Saturday, 31 December until Monday, 2 January and service changes from Saturday, 4 and Sunday, 12 February. 

25 November: Iryo launches high-speed train service between Madrid and Barcelona 

This month welcomes a new addition to the growing roster of high-speed train services popping up across the Continent with iryo. Not only have EuroNight introduced more sleeper train routes in the Nordics, but France recently announced the launch of their new high-speed TGV M model (Trains à Grande Vitesse) that will be more energy efficient than their current models. These next-generation trains will operate within France, with 15 on international routes starting in 2024. 

And now Spain has followed suit by adding a new high-speed service from train operator iryo. The inaugural journey kicked off this week, and their collection of 20 "red arrow" trains will operate in Spain, with 16 daily trips between Madrid and Barcelona. Before the end of the year, they will also introduce a high-speed route between Madrid and Valencia, with additional services from the capital to Seville and Malaga starting in March 2023. 

Image Location: Plaza Mayor, Madrid

10 November: Travel through Laos on the country's first semi-high-speed train

Experience the beauty of Laos on the country's semi-high-speed railway. A first for the country, this 262-mile route runs through the idyllic countryside twice a day, connecting multiple cities in under four hours. This scenic journey begins in Vientiane, the country's capital which is a stone's throw from Thailand across the Mekong River and snakes its way northwards to the casino town of Boten near the border with Yunnan Province in China. This new Asian train journey is part of the bigger Kunming–Singapore railway corridor that plans to connect China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Image Location: Amsterdam Centraal station

1 November: Eurostar will stay at Amsterdam's Centraal station with plans for a relocated space in 2024

Following months of talks on the future of Eurostar services at Amsterdam's Centraal station comes a positive announcement that travellers have been waiting for. There had previously been discussions about moving the international terminal to a less convenient location for upcoming construction works. Instead, the Eurostar terminal and lounge will relocate to the Amstelpassage, an underground walkway under the station's main tracks that feature a modern hub of shops and restaurants. This new move will not only keep the daily London-Brussels-Rotterdam-Amsterdam services on the schedule but also help to accommodate even more passengers in the station, increasing capacity from 250 to 600 travellers. 

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